Out in Wonderland
by The Illusionest
Summary: Full Summary is inside: In the seventy-five years since Ash and his friend's time, the rules of Pokemon have changed. You may no longer travel once you turn ten. In fact, you don't even get to decide if you go. If you go is decided by the regions capitol.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Out in Wonderland

**Rating: **T (for slight mature themes and minor course language)

**Summary: **In the seventy-five years since Ash and his friend's time, the rules of Pokemon have changed. You may no longer travel once you turn ten. In fact, you don't even get to decide if you go. Each region holds a drawing each year, where fifteen kids, ages fifteen to eighteen, from each region are chosen at random to receive a Pokemon chosen for them and travel the region. If you're chosen, you may either battle your way through the region, or compete in the various contests halls in hopes of becoming the next greatest Contester.

Twenty years after the Mistake that put these rules into place, two girls from Sinnoh, who seemingly have no relation what-so-ever, are chosen: Nina, the outspoken, vindictive girl from the Resort Area, and Naomi, the artistic, excitable girl from Canalave City. Everything seems normal for these two girls when they set off to travel. Little do they know the trouble passed down back two generations ago is finally ready to strike, and unless they band together, their futures are not guaranteed.

* * *

**Hey there everyone, it's TheIllusionest here! Previously known as MyHeartBeatsForLove!**

**Here, I bring you a new Pokemon story that is a collab between me and my cousin, Lunamon810.**

**For this story, I would like to first warn you all that some minor course language and some mature themes will be present. This is not your normal Pokemon journey. Times have changed and safety is a big issue. Believe it or not, there are more dangerous people than those who want to steal Pokemon. I rated this T because I believe the themes in here can be handled by those thirteen and up. If you feel like you may not be able to handle some mature themes, then read at your own risk. Honestly, I don't think it'll be a problem, I'm just giving you fair warning.**

**Now, here is a quick little info for you. Chapters will be updated on Fridays or Saturdays, depending on when we're able to finish fixing them. Note, it is possible that we might have to skip a week if one on us is unable to get the chapter finished in time. Quality is what we are after, not quantity.**

**Now, for a quick disclaimer, which today, will be read aloud by...Paul! :D**

**Paul: ...Does this really need a disclaimer?**

**Me: Of course! Why wouldn't it?**

**Paul: Cuz all of this is fan made.**

**Me: Paul. The story and majority of the characters are fan made. I didn't make Pokemon! Or you!**

**Paul: I know that! Wait-me? Tell me I'm not in this!**

**Me: I ain't telling you nothing til you give me the disclaimer!**

**Paul: Fine! Little miss literal here does not own Pokemon, or any of the original characters or Pokemon. Any other little weirdos who pop up, she does own.**

**Me: Thanks! And some belong to my cousin!**

**Paul: Yeah Yeah, now am I in this or not?**

**Me: Eh. You'll have to wait and find out.**

**Enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Nina**

"Nina, darling, could you come here a moment?" I looked over my shoulder at the blond haired woman standing at the entrance to the Ribbon Syndicate, calling to me.

I sighed and heaved myself up off of my knees, staring down into the empty pool below me. I had gotten up especially early this morning to drain the water, which would take longer than one might imagine. With it now cleared out, I would be able to get a better look into the interior structure of the pool, which would allow me to both find out what pipe or root could be carrying ocean water into the processed mass that is our pool, and to get a better understanding of the architectural development put behind building it all those years ago.

I wiped my hands off on the handkerchief I kept inside my right boot and turned to the woman who called me. I waved my hand twice at her and shut off my flashlight, tucking into my other boot before heading over to the bright colored building. Wrapping my arm around one of the two white support beams, I motioned with my head to the lady before settling on leaning my head against the beam.

"Yeah?" I asked.

She gave me a disapproving shake of her head and a sound of clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "It's 'Yes, Ma'am' honey. Honestly, has your mother taught you no manners?" I just shrugged my shoulders at her accusation.

"Just cause she teaches 'em doesn't mean I abide by 'em." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"If she taught 'em, you could have enough couth or respect to at least attempt to use them." she said with her nose high and her eyes sharp.

Most of the people at the Ribbon Syndicate weren't quite as snobby or classy as she was. It was only the people who handled the ribbons that were like this. The rest of us, those who either volunteered to help out and care for the Pokemon, or those who got to work personally with the trainers and their Pokemon were fairly courteous and down to earth, very accepting of those around us.

"Well _Ma'am,_" I said, "You asked for a moment of my time. That moment is coming to a quick close. I do have work to do, ya know." I inclined my head towards the pool and the array of tools that were scattered around it.

Her lips formed a snarl and she tossed me a nasty look. "Nina. Do you remember the lady who came by Tuesday? The one who asked us to treat her Vileplume in the spa upstairs?"

"Of course." I spat, "Her Vileplume stun spored me every time I tried to do so much as clean or massage her."

"Yes, well, Nina, that lady is a very important official from Jubilife. And her business here is quite. . . quite mandatory for Miss Shinji." she said to me, her eyes sending me a silent warning.

I put both hands up in surrender and rolled my eyes. "Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a twist ya old lady. I'll take good care of her little poison puff."

"Nina, this attitude of yours is becoming quite a hassle around here!" she said, stepping closer to me, "I am sure that I am not the only one who is getting sick of your little know-it-all attitude. But I will be the one who stops taking your backlashing words! Now you can either swallow your pride and show me some respect, or you will be forcing my hand to report your insubordination to your grandmother."

I looked at her incredulously and scoffed. "My grandmother? You're going to report me to my _grandmother?_"

"Yes. Yes young lady, I sure am." she said and turned on her heels to go into the Ribbon Syndicate.

I let a huff of air out through my nose and let out a growl, marching up to her. I grabbed a hold of her upper arm and steered her towards the side of the building, shoving her shoulder against the concrete and holding my other arm underneath her chin.

"You listen here, Miss Dayton." I said with sharp words, "My grandmother is old. She doesn't need to be disturbed by your petty little intolerance for a little free thinking."

"Free thinking? You don't simply free think, you free act. You have no regards for anyone but yourself." Miss Dayton rebutted, a choked sound coming from her throat.

"And I survive just fine that way." I replied, "Don't go fixing something that ain't broken. Especially if it ain't yours to fix."

I pulled away hastily and spit in her direction, averting my eyes away from her and back to my previous project. I didn't hear anything from her at first. All that was behind me was silence. Then I heard the scuffle of clothes against the wall and sent a glance over my shoulder, watching her disgusted face as she wiped the dirt and wrinkles away from her clothes. Her eyes looked over at me, but at that moment I turned my eyes forward, stopping at my pile of tools.

Sticking my hand into my left boot, I pulled out my handheld flashlight and hopped down inside the darkness of the emptied pool. I found the Oran Berry sized hole that I had managed to dig out and shone the flashlight in, examining the circular walls. I spotted a small growth forming about four or five inches into the chamber and reached up, grabbing for a pair of scissors and a bag that I could use to collect this whatever-it-was.

"If this is some poisonous mushroom relative, I should grind it into Miss Dayton's lunch tomorrow." I mumbled to myself as I set the bag into the hole, reaching the scissors in as soon as my hand was free.

* * *

By the time I got home, my brother was already cleaned up from his day at the Academy and was sitting lazily on the couch, probably watching one of the old tellings of people like our grandparents. Back then, there was no being picked to travel, and you didn't have to be fifteen to be able to go. When children turned ten they were given clearance to travel.

Looking at it now, the new rules were heaven sent. An unlimited amount of little ten year old kids running amuck, fighting against each other, and taking on those creatures was a disaster waiting to happen. Despite the fact that most citizens hated these rules, they never really took into consideration the unstable way everything had been handled.

"Aaron, it's after seven." I said, walking over to our little TV set and switching it off. "You know Dad's rule."

Aaron pouted in his seat, wrinkling his little nose around the black swirls of hair that kept obstructing his vision. "He says that because we're supposed to eat at eight! That's in fifteen minutes and you haven't even started!" he whined, crossing his arms and trying to stomp his feet against the ground, but his legs were a bit too short to reach.

I walked over and leaned over him, flicking him on the nose. "I was working, little dude. I ain't got much say in it if my job ain't done." I stuck my tongue out at him and gave his belly a little poke before straightening out and heading for the kitchen. "Did Dad leave any dinner instructions before heading to the main building?"

Aaron shook his head at me as I glanced behind me, and I nodded. "Did Mom eat before heading to the Center in Hearthome?" I asked and he gave me a small nod. "Did she say when she'd make it back?"

"Hm. Ten at the earliest, and midnight at the latest. Depends on how much damage the trainers and coordinators have done." he answered and I raised my brow at him.

"Nice memory." I said, digging through the cupboards. "What do you want anyway?" I asked.

"I don't know." he said softly. "What do we have?"

I let my foot fall flat on the floor, leaving one of my arms gripping a cupboard, and turned my head to my brother. "I'm looking into that, little dude. Tell me what you want and I'll know where to look for it. It'll save me a lot of pointlessly cramped toes in the morning." Aaron cracked a smile at that, knowing that to reach the food, I generally had to stand on my tiptoes.

"Do we have any spaghetti?" he asked, jumping up from his seat.

I sent him a glare and pointing to the floor. "Feet on floor, now. If Dad sees your knees on the couch, we're both in for a lecture, General Shinji style." he pouted but fell back onto his bottom. "And yes, we have spaghetti." I replied as I pulled the sauce and noodles out of the cupboard. "By the way, when did you stop calling is 'pasghetti'?"

He just shrugged at me and motioned for me to hurry up with his food. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the counter. I set the ingredients down and crouched to retrieve the cooking dishes from beneath the sink.

"How hungry are you, anyway?" I asked him as I put everything on the counter in front of me.

He smiled widely at me, rubbing his stomach in a circular motion, smacking his lips. I shook my head and laughed at him.

* * *

"Nina, honey? Nina?" the first things I saw were my mother's sea green eyes looking down at me.

I raised a hand to wipe the sleep from my eyes and yawned upon completing this task. Taking a quick look to my left, I noticed Aaron sleeping soundly beside me, tucked carefully into my side. I gave Mom a pleading look and she quietly picked up a pillow from beside me and put it against my side, letting Aaron grab a hold of it long enough to let me go.

I stood up and stretched, all of my muscles screaming with ache. Spending twelve hours out in the pool can really mess with the body's normal daily functions. Especially if double the stress is added to the body as compared to the amount it is used to.

I followed Mom as she walked into the kitchen and I realized that I had failed to do the dishes before passing out on the couch. From the look on my Mother's face though, it wasn't much of an issue with her. As she leaned her back against the counter, I leaned my arm on the back of one of our wooden chairs placed at our dining table. Looking up at the clock, I saw that it was a quarter after eleven.

"How was the Center?" I asked.

"Rather peaceful in a way. There was a batch of kids from the Contest Hall who came to heal their Pokemon, but they were in and out pretty quickly. Probably didn't want to miss the celebration held for the victor." Mother answered, smiling at me.

I smiled back a little, but I couldn't keep the detest off my face. "I don't understand what they find so appealing about swirling around in their fancy get-ups while their Pokemon shower them with attacks."

"You have to admit," my mother laughed, "The way you described it makes it sound pretty glamorous."

"Glamour isn't exactly in my layout, Mother." I said as I pushed away from the table and to the sink, filling it up with water. "When is Dad gonna be home?"

"Actually," she said, leaning her head towards the door, "just about any minute now."

I let my hands soak up the soapy water as a silence stretched on between us. Our conversations never consisted of much more than what we had said tonight. I usually asked about Mom's night, and she would generally ask about mine in return. A very simple procedure. And easy to keep.

As I managed to get the last of the dishes in the strainer, I heard the front door creak open, but I kept myself perched by the sink, finishing the job I had started. My father's footsteps carried from the entrance of the house to the living room, where I assumed he stopped over Aaron to cover him with the blanket that was always placed on the back of the couch. His footsteps got quiet for a minute, and if not for the fact that I could hear his breathing, I would have assumed he had managed to get upstairs.

By the time I heard his footsteps coming towards the kitchen, I had already finished with all the dishes and had begun draining the water. I reached for the white towel hanging from the oven handle and rubbed it against the skin of my hands, which were red due to the intense heat of the water I had used.

When my Dad walked in, I just smiled and gave a half-hearted wave, but other than that made no other attempt to get his attention. I didn't get a whole lot of attention normally, so it wasn't like I need it in the current moment. My father was a very distant person by nature, probably a habit he picked up from my grandfather.

I was just about to head upstairs to my bedroom when a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned to see the dark eyes of my father as he motioned for me to follow him to the dining room table. Mom was sitting in one of the two seats facing away from the entrance of the house, and my father pulled up a seat beside her. I stood there undecided for a moment before reluctantly sitting down.

"Nina. Something came for you today." my father said, sliding a white envelope across the table to me.

I picked it up and examined it thoroughly. Unlike a lot of letters and papers that we received in the mail, the envelope for this one was pure white, and it was clean, not a trace of dust on it, which is highly unlikely considering we usually let our mail pile up a day or two. Written in the center I read my name and saw the familiar written words 'Resort Area' labeled carefully.

As easily as I could, I pulled apart the lip of the envelope so that the letter inside became visible. Upon opening it, I realized that there were two sheets of paper. The first sheet had a manila coloring to it, and the texture felt rougher and thicker. I steadily opened up this first letter to see a very familiar set of rules.

**The Rules of Sinnoh**

**Here in the Region of Sinnoh, young adults are given offers of traveling amongst the region to either A) Catch Pokemon & Defeat the regions gym leaders, or to B) Compete in the Pokemon Contests set to display the true beauty of the relationship between Pokemon and Human. Only a select few each year are chosen to fulfill one of these tasks. If you are lucky enough to be one of these, we wish you the best of luck. Below, please carefully read the rules as set by the Main Building of Sinnoh.**

_**1.** To be chosen, you must submit an application to the Main Building before your seventeenth birthday. It is recommended for the form to be turned in right after you have turned fifteen as to give you more likely results of being given clearance to travel. If you fail to turn one in before you're seventeenth birthday, you will be unable travel._

_**2.** By age 18 you will no longer be permitted to travel. The only exceptions would be those who need to travel to a specific place for their career of choice. As another side, you will not be permitted to travel before the age of fifteen._

_**3.** You must choose the path of Trainer or Coordinator when submitting your form. Once the form is submitted, you may not change the setting._

_**4. **Out of everyone in the region, only fifteen per year (maximum) will be chosen._

_**5. **Your party may contain six Pokemon and if necessary you may send six into storage. _

_**6. **To move on to a new region to train, you must defeat the current Champion_

_**7. **To move on to a new Region to compete in new Contests, you must win the Grand Festival._

_**8. **If you are chosen, you will be given a new model Poketch. This will not only serve as your communicator, map, and pokedex for the region, it will also be a tracking device used to locate you in cases of emergency. Your Poketch will be locked securely with a key, so removal without it would be impossible. The key is generally given to a member of your family for safe keeping._

It was true, I recognized the rules. We first learned about the Sinnoh Rules when we were ten years old, a bit of a prequel to learning about the past. They showed us the new rules and then compared them to before where the rules were lacking. They also showed them to us again at the beginning of this school year in an attempt to prepare us for those who might possibly be chosen to travel.

I looked down at the second letter in my lap. The Main Building in Jubilife had sent me an envelope containing the rules and something else. I was absolutely sure they didn't just send this out to people.

I unfolded the second letter steadily, watching the text as though it might try to dance away if I took my eyes off of it.

**Dear Nina Shinji,**

**You have been chosen among the fifteen this year to participate in traveling the Sinnoh Region. It was such a surprise for us to pick out a name from the Resort Area when the population is so low and very few of the children actually sign up for a chance to participate. We are very excited to hear that you signed up and that you were chosen. Your grandparents are a great inspiration to many people in this Region.**

**We would like to give you a proper congratulation and to say that it is an honor to have you represent us. It is always such a welcome surprise when the grandchildren of such fantastic people get to join us in such amazing adventures. From this point onwards, it is your duty to make your way to Jubilife City to receive everything needed for your journey and to go through a quick scan so we can pick the perfect Pokemon for you to do your traveling with.**

**Please be sure to make your way here and through the Main Building doors before the midnight the day after you receive this letter or your traveling privileges will be revoked. We hope to see you soon.**

**Sincerely, **

**The Staff of Jubilife's Main Building**

I set the letter down carefully on the table and sent my eyes up to my parents. My Mother's eyes looked rather hopeful, while my father looked more cautious, as if wondering exactly how I would act. I tapped my fingers against the table for a moment as I mulled over the information I had just been given.

Keeping my eyes trained on the table, I took in a deep breath, "I never sent in an application." I said, matter-of-factly.

Neither of my parents seemed to expect that reaction and they both took a sort of a double take. I watched my Mother's hopeful expression sway between confusion and disappointment, most likely both having to do with my lack of enthusiasm. As for my Dad, he just signed in relief and didn't make much of a big deal out of it what-so-ever.

I cleared my throat and looked at each of them, "I didn't send in that letter." I repeated, and they must have known I was accusing them of something.

My Mother reached her hand over the table, gripping mine. "Oh, we know you didn't sweetheart." she said while she smiled and patted her palm against the back of my hand.

"Mom, tell me you didn't send in an application form." I said, my voice and body rigid.

She continued smiling and patting my hand but remained silent for the next few minutes. "I thought you would want to travel." she said at last, softly.

I instinctively pulled my hand away from hers and took in a deep breath, counting to five before releasing it in slow outtakes. "I don't. . . I don't want to." I said back to her. "I haven't wanted to for years! What could have given you the notion that I wanted to go play Tamer out in Wonderland?" I pushed my seat back and shook my head. "It's ridiculous."

"I just assumed Nina. You use to be so excited about being old enough to travel! And the way you interact with the Pokemon at the Ribbon Syndicate! You just seem like such a wandering spirit. I only wanted you to have the life you want." she said to me, her voice not rising or falling as she spoke.

"I wanna stay here." I said, clenching and unclenching my fists.

My Mother stopped protesting against my arguments and again the house fell silent. Mother just looked at me with eyes of sadness and Father didn't look at me at all. Not wanting to travel wasn't wrong. Most people in Resort Area wanted to do something aside from travel and battle. That was what the city was notorious for, even before everything changed.

"I'm going to bed." I said and walked around them towards the stairs. I made it a few feet up the stairs before a small voice stopped me in my tracks.

"How can you not want to go?" Aaron's voice called to me, and I turned my head. He stood there in his messy clothes, blanket falling half off of his shoulders, and his hair falling and flying in all directions. "Traveling. Seeing all those Pokemon. Getting to meet so many new people. How can you not want to experience that, Nina?" his voice rose slightly.

"Wanting isn't a part of this equation, Aaron." I said, turning around and walking back down the stairs. "Nothing in life should ever be decided on a want." I knew my voice sounded harsh, but I couldn't calm it down. "Mom wanted to become a Pokemon Nurse, not a Helper. But that didn't happen. Dad wanted to work in the Main Building in Jubilife, but that was far from reality. I wanted to win those three ribbons sitting in the Ribbon Syndicate, but there is no way in hell of that happening!" my voice had rose to a loud shout and my cheeks turned red. My eyes felt like they were being stung by Beedrill but I wouldn't stop. I couldn't stop my voice, my body, my mind, none of it.

I wound up with one fist against the wall, the other holding Aaron by the collar of his shirt. "Wanting is a waste. You don't want things, you get them. If you can't get them on your own, then they aren't worth your time." I let go of his shirt, and he fell roughly to the ground. I saw the little sparks of fear playing in his eyes, but they had no effect on me.

I turned once again to ascend the stairs, but the scuffle of feet behind me made me stop.

"Then don't want. Do. I want to travel, but I never will. You have the opportunity right in front of you and you refuse it! I can never live out my want. But you can." Aaron said in the most confident voice I had ever heard from him.

My body relaxed, despite how much fight I still had left in me. No matter how against the whole thing I was, I knew my brother was completely right. The fact that I was even chosen was a miracle all its own. The chances of any other kid in the Resort Area, let alone my brother, being chosen out of all of Sinnoh's population was near impossible. My brother never asked for much, and I knew training Pokemon and traveling was all he'd ever wanted to do. He had to abandon that dream and destroy any delusions about being chosen.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. "When does the next train to Jubilife leave?" I asked.

"At midnight." my father replied, standing up and walking to the living room, leaving the rest of us in the kitchen.

"What time is it now?" I turned to my mom, putting my hands on my hips.

"Eleven forty-five." she answered, looking up at the clock on the wall.

"Well shit." I mumbled under my breath, careful not to let Aaron hear me. "Give me ten minutes to get packed." I headed for the stairs again. "I should be able to get on the train right before it departs."

"Why not just take tomorrow's day train, Nina?" Aaron asked, "Instead of hurrying to catch this one."

I clicked my tongue. "It's a ten hour train ride, sweetie. The day train leaves at three. I won't get there til one in the morning, and it'll be too late by then."

* * *

I had actually managed to get to the train before it departed. Given that the guard put up quite a fight to keep me off that train. They weren't supposed to let anyone on or off a minute before it left, but with only thirty seconds to spare, I didn't exactly have an option. So, I ducked under his arm and grabbed a seat in an empty compartment.

I sat my backpack down against the railing and reached up to grab a blanket from the compartment above me. Ten hours would make for a long night on an empty train compartment, and I had no intention of spending that time watching the cities pass by. I positioned myself comfortably on the seat of the train, laying my head on the purple backpack. Stretching my legs out, I yawned and closed my eyes, pulling the covers over me. The last thing I saw outside the window was a big oak tree disappearing from view.

* * *

I woke up early in the morning, about a quarter after nine. I didn't particularly want to sit there for forty-five minutes with absolutely nothing to do, but I also couldn't go back to sleep. The train was just as empty as it had been when I'd fallen asleep. That wasn't so surprising, considering there were seven other compartments.

When the train finally came to a stop, with the announcement that we had arrived in Jubilife, I quickly slung my bag over my shoulder and folded the blanket to return it to its chamber.

"You can keep it if you want." a woman, who looked to be somewhere in her twenties, said to me.

I gave a swift nod of my head and held the blanket close to my chest, hurrying off of the train that suddenly felt very crowded. They always said three was a crowd, but to me, three wasn't the crowd, two was.

I stepped off of the train and saw just how much more urban this city was compared to the one I lived in. Trees could barely be seen in the distance, beyond the city, but almost none touched the inside. There were concrete pavements, people walking around, and buildings were everywhere. The Resort Area was small, with very few actual houses, and only really one main building: The Ribbon Syndicate. Here, houses loitered about in little clusters, with the buildings taking up the majority of space.

I pulled out the map of Jubilife my father had given to me, one of the few things he cared to help me with. I located the train station on the map and looked directly across from it. The Pokemon Center would be directly to the right upon exiting the train station. So I quickly exited the glass doors, and there it was. According to the map, if I kept going straight on the road in front of me, the building that used to be only known as the "Poketch Company" would appear to my right.

I made my way quickly to the building, being forced to stop when I realized they weren't open yet. The paper posted on the doors said that the building opened at noon, which I was still two hours away from.

Sighing, I backtracked my way to the Pokemon Center; the only place I knew was made for the chosen children. In all honesty, I'd never been in a Pokemon Center before. Considering my town didn't have a gym or really any Pokemon competitions, I assumed they felt no need to have one. Mom never took me to work with her when she traveled to the various Pokemon Centers, mostly because my Father claimed I'd be in the way.

I walked into the Pokemon Center, internally cringing at the intense amount of pink covering the inside. Very few people could be seen from the front. The nurse was behind her desk, chatting with a young trainer, who looked to be a second year traveler. There was a girl sitting on the pink couch to my left, petting and hugging a Piplup. More people could be heard moving around beyond the hallways, but none that I could see.

I felt a soft tug of air against my pigtails, but thought nothing of it. That, of course, was a mistake, as directly after the tug, I felt a warm collision against my back. I staggered forward but kept my balance enough to keep me from crashing on the floor. Swinging my head around, I narrowed my eyes to see just what had knocked me over. Standing in front of me was an oak-brown haired boy, clearly older than the starting age of a trainer, and obviously not from this region, by the slight tanned tone to his skin. He at least had to be a second year trainer.

"'The hell is wrong with you?" I asked, clenching my hands to my side.

His lips formed into a smile before I heard his words, "Sorry ma'am. The sun is just so bright today. I didn't notice anyone inside until I'd already opened the door."

"Ma'am?" I looked him up and down and shook my head, scoffing. He spoke like he was older than he looked. "How old are you?" I asked, venom rising in my voice.

"Seventeen." he said, not missing a beat. "First year?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "You just hit me with a door. I don't think you have any rights to be asking me such personal questions."

"You're right." he said, raising his hands slightly. "I apologize. Perhaps I could get your name?"

"Nina." I said, crossing my arms. "Don't bother remembering it. I don't plan to see you again."

I didn't wait for a response and shoved around him to get out of the building. The enormous city loomed over me and I took in a deep breath. It looked like there would be time for some exploring.

* * *

I ended up spending my time sitting in basically the only green area in the entire city, a small patch of grass surrounding a sparkling fountain. Several people stopped to look at me as they walked along the street, looking slightly concerned for as why a young girl would be lying in an area that I assumed was just to be observed.

I somehow managed to navigate my way back to the Main Building of Sinnoh. The doors had opened around ten or fifteen minutes ago, and I was ready to get this over with. I wasn't looking forward to undergoing the tests that I'd heard rumors about. Nothing about the process was ever confirmed to people who weren't chosen, but those that were never kept quiet about it.

I walked in and quickly made my way to a desk near the entrance. "Hello?" I asked the lady behind the desk.

"Yes Miss? How may I help you?" she asked me, smiling her plastic smile.

"My name is Nina Shinji." I told her, leaning my elbows on her desk. "I received a letter indicating that I was chosen."

The lady behind the desk gave me a nod of acknowledgment and began digging through a stack of papers to her right. She plucked one out and leaned over her desk to hand it to me. "This is your administration papers. Take them down that middle hallway and into the third door on the left. Do you need me to show you?" she asked as she set herself back down in her seat.

Shaking my head, I took the papers from her and leaned away from her desk. "Naw. I'm sure I can follow basic instructions."

A look of shock crossed her face, but I just turned and walked away from her. There was nothing special about the hallway, pretty plain with gray walls. All the doors looked relatively the same to me, but my counting didn't need to be questioned. Three doors to the left wasn't a hard instruction to follow.

The room wasn't too big, but it wasn't exactly small either, somewhere in the middle. The entire left wall was covered by a set of shelves that held various Pokeballs. A little farther back in the room was a machine that had the words 'Scanner ' written on it. I had to chuckle at that. As if it wouldn't be obvious enough.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I jumped as I noticed a lady come from my right.

"Yeah" I said and handed her the stack of papers.

She looked down and flipped through them quickly. "Nina Shinji." she said and smiled at me. "It is a pleasure to have you here today." her hair curled around her face, blending into her brown eyes as she moved her head.

"How does this work?" I asked, motioning with my hand towards the rest of the room.

She quickly laid the papers down on a desk in the far right corner and stood in front of me, clasping her hands together. "For starters, I'm Professor Mavi." she offered her hand to me, but I just raised my brow and she dropped it. "Secondly, we have a questionnaire for you to fill out. Are you more comfortable answering them on paper or answering verbally?"

"Verbally." I answered without hesitation.

She nodded and walked me to the back of the room, to a blue door. "Just sit in this room, listen for the scenario, then you'll see a visual representation on the screen. Respond with your natural instinct."

* * *

After answering the questions for the Professor, she put my hand against the scanner, which I was fine with until it bit me. My index finger had a small amount of blood coming from it and I stuck it in my mouth to keep it from stinging anymore.

While I nursed my finger back to health, Professor Mavi collected a piece of paper from the scanning machine and looked it over. With her free hand, she motioned for me to follow her, and with my finger still in my mouth, I did.

Her fingers traced over the rows of Pokeballs, and upon finding the one she most have been looking for, gave a smug look. She pressed a few buttons on a panel, and the glass that was keeping the Pokeballs from the rest of the room opened. After pulling the Pokeball out, she examined it and closed the glass case. She turned back to me with the biggest grin on her face.

"According to your answers, this little guy is perfect for you." she told me and held it out to me.

I grabbed it in my own hands and rolled it between them. "Do I let it out?" I asked.

"Only if you want to." she answered, "But I do suggest it."

I nodded and aimed my Pokeball to the floor, watching as a white ray of light shone out, forming into a small shape. When the light vanished, the creature before me shifted around quickly, sticking its nose into the air. Its fur was white with a faint bluish tint, light blue stripes going from its forehead to the tip of its tail. Deep gray eyes and yellow pouches on its cheeks stuck out to me. Its tail was almost twice its own size, and had three spikes at the top of the tail's curve.

"She's adorable!" Professor Mavi said, "This wonderful ball of energy is-"

"Pachirisu." I said, cutting her off. "I work at the Ribbon Syndicate, I see different Pokemon every day."

Professor Mavi nodded and I called my partner back into her Pokeball. "Step one complete. We do have a little more for you."

She led me to a room on the other side of the building and led me straight to a desk that read "New Trainers". The lady behind the desk smiled at the professor and took the papers that were offered to her. She typed several lines into her computer before writing something down on the top paper, and then motioned for me to walk over. I did just that and the lady set the paper on the counter along with a pen.

"Sign please." she said to me.

I leaned over the counter and signed my name quickly, handing the paper and pen back to her. Just then, Professor Mavi turned us around and led us to a desk right across from the one we were currently at. The sign above it had the word "Poketch" on it. The Professor leaned over and snatched up an orange one, handing it out to me.

"You prefer orange, don't you?" she asked and I nodded. "Now, this is very important. Your Poketch has several functions. For starters, it is your Pokedex. It is your watch. It is your calendar. It is your map. It is how you will communicate with anyone not in close proximity to you. Do you understand?" Again, I nodded.

She ordered me to hold my arm out, and I did. The Poketch was latched onto my arm, and then a key was inserted into a small slot on the bottom.

"What did you do?" I asked, suddenly becoming wary of the person in front of me.

"It's just a precaution." she answered. "There's a tracker inserted, and we have to make sure you can't remove it."

Hearing that shocked me. I didn't think they really implanted trackers. I didn't know that they were so keen on keeping a constant eye on their chosen. I just had to wonder, what exactly were they worried about?

"Now. This key here will be sent to your father. Only he will be able to remove this watch from you." she told me, handing the key to a young man who walked up to her.

Internally, I cursed. Giving it to my father was a horrible idea. Never in all of my life would he use that key for me. Even if I begged him, he still wouldn't do it.

"Well," Professor Mavi said as the young man scurried away, "You're free to go where you will. I suggest staying in town tonight, since you will not be given clearance to travel until tomorrow."

I let out a huff of hair and nodded to her. "Thanks." I said and gave a small wave of my hand, hurrying to exit the building. The sun outside was still bright in the sky, and people still hung around the various buildings. I couldn't leave the city until at least midnight, which frankly made me anxious. With no real idea of where to go, I made my way back to the Pokemon Center, which was now, thankfully, free of the person who had bumped into me earlier.

I rented a room from the nurse, staying in a room with only one bed, one dresser, one window, and a bathroom. The window had pink curtains, which I cringed at. I allowed my Pachirisu to come out and observe the room, which she was quite grateful for. As she bounced around every corner of the small room, I put my stuff down on the floor and crawled onto the bed. My eyes suddenly felt very heavy and I let my head fall against the pillow, my green eyes soon becoming covered by my eyelids. I felt the soft fur of my Pokemon brush up against my arm before I slipped out of consciousness. Waiting soon became the subject of my dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **_Hey guys! Welcome to Chapter Two of Out in Wonderland. This chapter I have to say belongs to my cousin. I do, however, have a little writing section in this chapter. We would appreciate some feedback on each of our first chapters. Our writing styles are pretty different in my opinion. I'd appreciate it if you criticize the chapters, to please do so constructively. We want to get better, so if all you say is 'I didn't like It' or 'it sucks' then that really doesn't help us get any better. If you do like It, I'd also appreciate it if you would maybe tell us something that made you like it, like your favorite part or something. One last thing, I apologize if some of the events of this chapter are a bit repetitive to the first (the process of the letter and getting chosen) but after this, our chapters will be a bit diverse for a while. Now, please, enjoy! _

* * *

**Chapter 2: Naomi**

I sat in the workshop with my dad. The floors were hardwood, and the walls were paneled with wood. We were sitting at a dark brown wood table, where a medium sized block of clay sat. My father and I were sculpting a statue of my dad, my deceased mom, my brother Saver, and I. I was on the right, sculpting Saver. Dad was sculpting me, while we idly discussed dinner.

"Soft tacos or corn dogs?" I asked him.

"Soft tacos." he said as he shaped my head, and I shaped Saver's arms.

"Okay I'll start making that in a hour or two." I said.

I was the cook in the family basically. I'm not a master chef, but after a while of cooking for dad, and when he visits, Saver, I've gotten pretty good at it. When mom died dad couldn't cook, he didn't know how or feel like doing much of anything. Saver was an okay cook, but I started taking turns with him and eventually just did it myself. I was only six when mom died. I started to cook when I was nine, simple things. But between then and now- I'm fifteen now- I've gone to do more complicated things.

I continued to work on Saver. I formed his hands, which is quite difficult. Once I got done, I heard the mailbox close shut. I looked at dad and he nodded for me to go check it. Dad's workshop was a couple of feet from the house, so I simply walked through to the front yard and opened the mailbox at the curb. It contained three things: Two copies of 'Artist Designs' and a white medium sized envelope.

I didn't think anything about the envelope, figuring it was a bill or something. I took all of it with me and headed back to the workshop. I handed dad all of it except my copy of Artist Designs. He handed the envelope back to me a few seconds later.

"Junk mail?" I asked.

"No, it's addressed to you." he said and went back to creating my hair, which went a few inches past my shoulders.

I looked at it, and then saw that it was from the Jubilife Government building. I opened it slowly, trying to figure out why the heck they'd be sending a letter to me. Then, once the envelope was open, it hit me. I'd sent in an application to become a Pokémon trainer! And it was the time of the year that they picked the people to travel!

I practically jerked the letter out, amazingly not damaging the letter or the envelope. I pulled out the two letters it contained. I read the bigger one first. I read the letter several times before I absorbed the information I was chosen to travel, and it was real due to the rules matching the ones we were told at school.

**The Rules of Sinnoh**

**Here in the Region of Sinnoh, young adults are given offers of traveling amongst the region to either A) Catch Pokémon & Defeat the regions gym leaders, or to B) Compete in the Pokémon Contests set to display the true beauty of the relationship between Pokémon and Human. Only a select few each year are chosen to fulfill one of these tasks. If you are lucky enough to be one of these, we wish you the best of luck. Below, please carefully read the rules as set by the Main Building of Sinnoh.**

_**1.** To be chosen, you must submit an application to the Main Building before your seventeenth birthday. It is recommended for the form to be turned in right after you have turned fifteen as to give you more likely results of being given clearance to travel. If you fail to turn one in before you're seventeenth birthday, you will be unable travel._

_**2.** By age 18 you will no longer be permitted to travel. The only exceptions would be those who need to travel to a specific place for their career of choice. As another side, you will not be permitted to travel before the age of fifteen._

_**3.** You must choose the path of Trainer or Coordinator when submitting your form. Once the form is submitted, you may not change the setting._

_**4. **Out of everyone in the region, only fifteen per year (maximum) will be chosen._

_**5. **Your party may contain six Pokémon and if necessary you may send six into storage._

_**6. **To move on to a new region to train, you must defeat the current Champion_

_**7. **To move on to a new Region to compete in new Contests, you must win the Grand Festival._

_**8. **If you are chosen, you will be given a new model Poketch. This will not only serve as your communicator, map, and pokedex for the region, it will also be a tracking device used to locate you in cases of emergency. Your Poketch will be locked securely with a key, so removal without it would be impossible. The key is generally given to a member of your family for safe keeping._

I picked up the second letter.

"**Dear Naomi Oak,**

**We'd like to congratulate you on being chosen. We are pleased that you were chosen, with all your contributing to the local museums to the town with your father. We hope this journey will be safe and inspiring for you.**

**We'd also like to remind you that this journey is dangerous. And please remember you must come to the Jubilife government building in time tomorrow, or otherwise you will be replaced. You will be scanned and tested for your perfect starter Pokémon. You will be given your Poketch as well.**

**Good Luck and happy travels.**

**Sincerely,**

**The Staff of Jubilife's Main Building**

I looked at my dad, who had just looked up at me from his sculpture. I handed him the letter, and he read it once and smiled at me.

"So you're a trainer now." he said.

"I can stay behind if you need me." I said.

"No, no you need to go." he said. "Wait until your grandad hears, Naomi!"

So, here's the thing. My grandfather was Gary Oak. The great Pokémon trainer. A professor. He always wanted his grandchildren to travel. And I was now! I shot out of the workshop and to my bedroom. I had a video-phone there, which wasn't so uncommon anymore. I grabbed the phone off the hook and dialed his number. It rang, and then eventually my grandfather appeared on the screen.

Grandpa was ageing, no doubt. He had grey hair with a little snip of brown here or there. His skin was slightly wrinkled, and a little paler than it was in the pictures from his travels. I grinned at my grandpa, and rocked on my toes.

"Hello Naomi." he said. "Why are you so happy?"

"I got accepted to be a trainer!" I exclaimed grinning.

"Really?" he asked. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "I am so excited! I can't believe I got chosen!"

"Probably sense you're _my _granddaughter." he said laughing.

I rolled my eyes at my grandpa. "Sure grandpa lets go with that."

We both laughed for a second, and then he said, "Well you should get packing. And make sure to pack plenty of clothes and food, you never know what's going to happen."

"I know, I know." I said. "You've told me before."

"Sorry dear. Just don't want you to starve or something." he said.

"Don't worry about me grandpa." I instructed. "I'll be fine."

"I know dear." he said. "Well I've gotta go, steak burning on the grill! Bye!"

"Bye grandpa!" I said. "I'll contact you when I make it to Jubilife and get my Pokémon!"

"Okay! Bye!" Grandpa said, and then hung up.

I replaced the phone on the hook. I picked up a dark brown satchel I had in my closet for whenever I needed a bag. It had recently been washed, so at least it wasn't dirty. After I packed clothes, Dad walked in the room. I smiled at him, and then noticed something he was holding in his hand.

"What's that dad?" I asked.

"It's a necklace your mother and I made for you when she was still...alive." he said.

He handed it to me. It was a thin gold chain with a thick wood heart on the bottom with 'Naomi' carved in it. I saw a thin split around almost all of it. I put my thumb nail there and it popped open to reveal a picture of my dad, mom, Saver, and I on the right, and a picture of me and mom on the left. I stared at it in awe for a minute. Then I snapped it shut and wrapped Dad in a tight hug.

"Thank you Dad." I said finally pulling away.

"We wanted you to have it as a good luck charm. We agreed if you traveled we'd give it to you then, or when you became sixteen never the less."

I nodded and smiled. He helped me put it on, and I looked in the mirror. My brown-haired green-eyed self stared right back. I was wearing a brown shirt with a slightly low chest that had strings crisscrossing across the chest. I was wearing white jeans with a black belt and gold colored buckle. And to top it off, I was wearing dark brown wedge sandals. My necklace looked good with it.

"We'll pack food tomorrow." Dad said. "No use of putting it in your bag tonight."

I nodded. I sat down on my bed. I looked at the top bunk. Saver's old bed. I sighed. I hadn't talked to Saver in a while. Grandpa probably had him out in the fields 24/7. I pressed down on my mattress, to express its softness to myself. I'd miss it. I headed out of my room and back to the workshop. Dad had finished me, and he was working on Saver now. So I occupied his old seat and worked on mom, who in the statue was standing next to me.I sculpted mom's hair and head, and then worked on her body.

We sat in silence for probably an hour, and he finished Saver and himself before I finished mom. When we were done we took a thin needle-like thing and carved in the faces and little details with it. I did myself and mom, while dad did himself and Saver. When we were done we gently put the statue of us, connected to a clay platform and by our arms being around each other, in celm.

"That turned out pretty well." I said.

"Agreed." Dad said smiling.

"I'm gonna go wash my hands and start on dinner." I said, and after he nodded I left the room and returned to the house into the kitchen.

I scrubbed my hands good, since, you know, you don't want clay in your tacos. I started the hamburger meat, and then set out the soft shells. I washed dishes and pushed around the meat while I waited. Once it was done I filled six taco shells with meat and cheese, the only stuff me and dad like on tacos. I set the table while the food cooled. Then dad came in and we ate.

"So, you excited to travel?" he asked me.

"Of course." I replied

"Just be careful out there." he said. "It's rough."

"You and mom both traveled, right?" I asked. "She and you both were from here in Canalave?"

"Right." he said. "And I was a trainer, and she was a coordinator. And I grew up to be a breeder, and she grew up to be-"

"A ranger." I finished for him.

"Right." he said.

I smiled at him. He'd told me stories about him and mom's travels. About some cool Pokémon he'd bred. I loved those stories. I loved hearing about my mother the most, but dad's breeding stories interested me too. I had at one point considered being a ranger, but I knew it was a dangerous job and I probably wouldn't. I figured I'd become a Pokémon photographer or something.

"So, have you decided whether you're going to do contests or battles yet?" Dad asked.

"Battles." I said. "I like watching battles more than contests. Plus, I'm not fighting a few dozen other people for the badge." I laughed and remembered something, "And I already signed up for battling when I sent in the form. I can't change it."

"Very true," Dad said. "I forgot about that. But with contests you get a bigger sense of accomplishment. "

"True. But how do you know dad?" I asked confused. "Didn't you do gym-battles?"

"Yes, but your mother convinced me to do a couple of contests. It was just before the 'one-or-the-other' rule started." Dad explained.

"Oh." I nodded.

"Dad, are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" I asked. "You haven't been by yourself longer than a day or two for nine years now."

"I will be fine. I remember how to cook, and there was a time where I was by myself." He reminded me.

"Yeah, when you were like ten." I reminded him.

"You never forget what you learn on a Pokémon journey."

"Really?" I asked.

"Uh-huh." he said, "Really."

I laughed as I finished my second taco. "Sure dad. Just remember, if you need me you'll be able to contact me with the Poketch,whenever you need me."

"Of course. I promise I will contact you if I need you." he said.

I smiled at him, showing him that I understood he would. I finished my third taco, along with him. I washed the dishes, and while I did so I felt sad knowing it'll be the last time I will for a while. I finally turned off the water and dried my hands off with a grey dishtowel. Dad had started to look at his copy of 'Artist Designs' when it hit me, I had to be in Jubilife tomorrow_. _

"Uh,dad?"

'"Yes?" he said looking up from his magazine.

"I think I have to leave tonight." I said. "I've gotta be in Jubilife tomorrow. "

Dad nodded. "True. I guess you should be leaving soon then."

I bit my lip and nodded. I stalked into my room and packed a couple of more things, like my jacket, wallet, video camera, diary, sunglasses, gloves, and another pair of shoes just in case. I went to the kitchen and filled the little remaining space with a couple of canned foods, a small bag of chips, and an apple. I squeezed in two bottles of water. the bag was slightly heavy, but I'd cope. I looked at the clock. It was 6:17pm. I sat down next to my dad.

"I guess...I need to go." I said quietly.

"Seems so." Dad said smiling at me.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I tossed my arms around my dad and hugged him tight, a few tears letting loose. He returned my hug and patted me on the back.

"One more thing to give you." He said, and handed me an old looking Teddiursa stuffed animal.

I gently took the plush toy and blinked at it. I knew I'd seen it somewhere before. Then it hit me. I looked at the picture of my mom on the wall. This was her old toy.

"Are-are you sure dad?" I asked.

He nodded. I managed to get it in there. Then I remembered a picture of mom I kept under my pillow, I didn't feel right without it. I dashed to my room and gently put it in my bag. I walked to the living room. I hugged my dad one last time.

"I love you daddy." I said.

"I love you too honey. Now go make me and your mother proud." He said.

I forced myself out the door. Then I turned to look at him. "Wait, what about the statue?" I asked.

He led me to the workshop. I saw the statue sitting there. It looked perfect, although it was unpainted.

"I'll paint it and show you on the video phone sometime." He promised.

"Thank you daddy." I said, and hugged him one last time, for real this time.

"Good-bye." I said. "I love you so much dad. Don't forget to call me if you need me."

"Bye dear, I love you too, and I won't." He said smiling.

"Wait, am I supposed to walk all that way?"

"Oh, no, Pidgeot can fly you there. Go, Pidgeot!"

So with that, I flew to Solaceon town. I figured I'd give Pidgeot a break there.

* * *

It was the next day. I'd slept at a Pokémon center in Solaceon Town, and I was in Oreburgh now. I felt tired, and I was stiff from sitting and flying all day. I flew out of Oreburgh, and I kept on going. After about twenty minutes, I had made it to Jubilife. I patted Pidgeot and sent him on his way home. Then, I saw an oh-so-familiar looking boy.

"Saver?" I asked.

The brown haired boy tilted his head to the side, pushing against the side of a nearby building. "Hey Sis. Long time no see. What are ya doing here in Jubilife?" he asked.

"I got accepted to become a Pokémon trainer!" I said a little too quickly. I grinned at my brother. He'd started his journey two years ago, and now it was my turn.

"You're getting ready to travel Sinnoh?" Saver asked, "Ain't that something? I'm waiting on my qualification papers to be sent from Johto. Then I'll be able to travel Sinnoh, too."

"Yep!" I said. "And that's awesome!"

Saver smiled and put his hands in his pocket. "Well, it's nice to see you all grown up. The last time I saw you in person, you were five, and the last time we video talked had to have been before I was even chosen in Kanto." he said, "How's the old man doing?"

"Yeah, it's good to see you too. Dad's good, I'm worried about him though. This is gonna be his first time he's been alone for longer than a day or two since...well ya know..."

Saver nodded and looked around what he could see of the town. "You'd probably better be hurrying to the Main Building. At midnight the building closes and if you don't make it in the building to register before that, then your chosen status gests revoked." he said.

"Yeah you're right. I'd better head out. I'll talk to you on the Poketch later, lettcha know what Pokémon I get." I told him, and then hugged him. "Love ya bro!"

I dashed off, heading off to the Jubilife Building. I continued for a while, and then slowed down as it came in sight. I headed over to see a girl standing outside it, pacing around looking extremely annoyed. She had mid-back length black hair. Her dark green eyes looked very annoyed as well. She had slightly tanned skin. She wore a black t-shirt with a big silver star on the chest and black jeans, with some black boots.

"Um, something wrong?" I asked her.

"I'm waiting for this stupid place to open." She said.

I stared at the building, then her. "It's open."

The girl looked at her watch. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

I laughed. "I'm Naomi Oak."

"Tori Ketchum." She said.

We both entered the building. I stopped at the front desk. The blond haired lady looked up at me and Tori.

"Oh, hi. Anything I can help you two with?"

"Yeah, I got a letter in the mail yesterday." Tori said. "About me being chosen to be a trainer?"

"Me too." I added.

"Oh okay, go to the third door on the left down that hall." She said pointing to a hallway.

"Thanks." I said, and then walked down the hallway.

Tori and I emerged into the said room. It was a fair sized room. Inside sat a table with a weird table with a black paneled thing on it that read 'scanner'. To the left was a wall with a bunch of poke balls, with a thick glass case in front of them. I presumed those were the possible Pokémon for the kids who were chosen to receive, and also believed the scanner was for them to help give you a perfect starter.

"Welcome." Said a lady I hadn't yet noticed.

The lady had curly auburn hair and light brown eyes. Her skin was fair, and she stood about 6"4. She wore a red-black button up shirt with a white knee-length skirt. She wore a lab coat over that. She wore black high heels, which were just tall enough to call so. She looked like she may only have been in her high 30's. She looked at us eagerly.

"You must be two of the kids they chose." She said.

Tori and I nodded. "So how does this work?" Tori asked.

"It's simple. We ask you some questions, then" she motioned towards the scanning panel, "We scan you. It gives us an idea of how you react to certain situations, appearances, stuff like that."

"Oh, interesting." I said. "Didn't know that." It was kind of weird sounding.

"I hear that all the time." she said nodding, with a hint of laughter.

"I bet." Tori muttered.

"Well, let's begin." she said. "Both of you sit over at the little brown table over there and fill out these questions."

She handed us both a short test. I sat down and whipped through the questions on my 'test'. Some were stuff like 'Would you rather be a trainer or coordinator?' or 'What is your favorite type?' My answer to the first was 'trainer', the second was electric, although that changes frequently. The last question made me stare for a few seconds. "What are Pokémon to you? Battlers? Pets? Toys? Pals?' Once I comprehended what they were asking, I wrote down 'friends' without a moment of hesitation.

Tori and I finished close to the same time; I finished a couple of minutes before her. Professor Mavi- the lady- examined our tests. I watched her face closely as she read mine. Her expression changed frequently, but right before she stopped her expression softened. Then she read Tori's, and pretty much the same thing. But at the end of Tori's, she seemed to go deep in thought. I looked at Tori.

"What did you answer for the last question?" I whispered.

"Battlers." She replied, confused.

I tilted my head slightly. Did she seriously think of them nothing more than her personal battlers? Or did she just not comprehend the question and answered too quickly? I looked back at Professor Mavi. She looked up from the papers.

"Okay. Now you will be scanned."

There were four divided panels, probably to get things going quicker. Tori and I stood side by side, and pressed her right hand on hers, and since I was left handed I pressed my left hand against mine. A red line outlined our hand. After a few seconds, she motioned for us to remove our hands. A printer automatically printed some papers, and she looked at them. She scanned them well, and then walked over to the poke balls on the left wall.

She typed some type of password or code into a little machine on the corner, and the glass panes slid up and down. She carefully took a poke ball from the very top shelf in her right hand, a one from the third shelf in her left. She handed me the one from her right hand, and the other to Tori.

"Should we release them in here?" Tori asked.

"Of course...well actually Naomi's would be too big..." She said.

She opened the door on the wall across from the door we came in from. It revealed a little meadow with a swimming pool, trees, bushes, basically a bunch of biomes in one. She led us near the little pool.

"Naomi, release yours in the pool. Tori, yours wherever you wish."

I nodded. We released ours at the same time. Tori's poke ball had withheld a Sneasel. I nearly dropped my own poke ball at seeing the long-clawed black Pokémon. It let out a swift 'Sneasel' then slashed its claws in the air. It looked at Tori and excitedly let out "Sneasel, Sneasel!'. Tori got on her knees in front of it and smiled, looking so happy I'd never seen someone that happy.

I swallowed hard. I hoped I'd like my Pokémon just as much. I tossed my poke ball at the rim of the pool and it let red light into the pool, and it formed into a long-necked-shelled Pokémon I knew was named Lapras. It let out a cheery 'Lapras!' then swam around calmly. I looked in awe at the amazingly beautiful Pokémon. I gasped as it playfully splashed water at me with its head. I couldn't believe it! Lapras was so...awesome to have!

"I-I can't believe I-I got a...Lapras!" I said cheerfully.

"Would either of you like to nickname your Pokémon?" Professor Mavi asked.

I nodded. "Crescent."

"Sounds fitting." She nodded.

"Saber."

"Also a good name." She said.

Lapras swam-although it looked like gliding- over to me. I patted her gently on the head. Professor Mavi handed me what I recognized as a sweet poffin.

"Go ahead, it's her favorite type."

I held the poffin in the palm of my hand and just below Lapras' head. She leaned over and gently took it from me, then tossed it into the air with her mouth, caught it, chewed it, and swallowed it. I laughed and patted its head.

"I think we're gonna be a good team Crescent." I said.

"Lapras!"

Tori pushed herself to her feet.

"Hey, Naomi?" Tori said.

"Yeah?" I turned to look at her.

"You wanna travel together?"

I hadn't been prepared for someone to ask me that! I hadn't even thought about traveling partners. I smiled and nodded. I knew her best, which wasn't much but it was a start. And I'd really like to get to know her better. And she seemed to be a pretty interesting person.

"So, let's go get that paperwork filled out!" Professor Mavi said.

We returned our new Pokémon, and reentered the building. She lead us through the door straight through the hall. Six desks were in there, two people behind each. Each had a sign above them, titled stuff like '2nd Years' and 'Reports'. We were lead to a desk with the title 'New Trainers'. The lady looked up from her desk.

"Oh, hello Professor Mavi, young ladies. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Well, these two of the new trainers we've chosen to travel." Professor Mavi said proudly.

"Oh! Congratulations girls!" the lady said.

"Thanks." I said, followed by Tori.

"What are your names?" she asked. "I have to double check to make sure you're actually the kids chosen for this."

"Tori Ketchum." Tori said.

"Naomi Oak."

She typed for a second, then nodded. "Okay, yes, both are here."

She looked between us and her computer screen. Probably to make sure ourselves and our pictures from the application matched up. She nodded once again. "Pictures match up. Well, I'm Vanessa." She said, then pulled out two piece of paper, with many blanks. She jolted down the first few, which looked like our names, ages, stuff like that.

"Okay, starters?"

"Tori has a male Sneasel." Professor Mavi said. "And Naomi has a female Lapras."

The lady wrote those two down. Then she made many more notes. "Okay, first I need you girls to sign." She handed us the piece of paper which had our names on it, and we signed. Then she pushed them to Professor Mavi, who signed. Then she took them back and signed on the last blank.

"Okey dokey. Looks like you two girls are all set here."

"Now what?" Tori asked.

"Your Poketchs." Professor Mavi said, and directed us to a desk with the title 'Poketch'.

The man looked up at us. "Hello."

"Girls, which color?" Professor Mavi asked us.

"Light brown." I said, since I loved brown.

"Silver." Tori said.

The man stood up, holding Poketchs of the two colors. He first motioned for Tori to extend her arm. She put her wrist in his hand and I watched as he latched it onto her hand. He locked it with a key, then motioned for me to do the same. I slowly followed the same procedure, nervous about it being locked on my hand.

He must have noticed my nervous look, due the fact he said, "This is in case something bad happens, we'll be able to find you. The key will be left with someone in your family." He informed me.

I nodded as I watched him turn the key to lock it on. It wasn't like it was so tight I couldn't scratch under it or anything, but tight enough to make you wonder what might happen to you on your journey. Sure, kidnappings happened a fair amount. But seriously, that much on journeys? So much they lock a tracking Poketch on you?

"All done." he said and started to put the keys in envelopes. "What family member will these be sent to?"

"The black one's key goes to her mother," Professor Mavi motioned towards Tori. "The brown one to her father." She motioned at me now.

"Okay." he said as Professor Mavi handed him the forum to sign, and look at the address on.

We watched him write the addresses, names, stuff like that on the envelope, then sign the forum we'd signed earlier. Tori tapped her foot. Professor Mavi looked at us.

"Remember, your Poketch is very important. It's your pokedex, as well as your map and calendar. And your means of talking to people who aren't close by."

"Right." I said.

"Well, you're free to go girls. Be careful," she said. "You're free to leave in the morning, and remember to stick to the rules!"

"Of course." Tori said, and then she turned around to walk out.

"Thanks Professor Mavi!" I said then ran after her.

Once we made it out of the building, it was late afternoon. Tori and I debated on what we should do while we waited to travel.

"I say we go to the Pokémon center." I finally said.

"Okay." Tori sighed.

Tori and I stalked over to the Pokémon center. We went inside the building and looked around. It was alarmingly . . . pink inside. Tori looked disgusted, must hate pink. I'm neutral on it. The lady at the front desk waved at us. Tori and I went over.

"We need a room." Tori said.

"Okay." The lady said. After a minute of typing on her computer, she handed us two key cards which were poke ball-colored.

"There you go."

We went to our room and went inside. It wasn't much, two bunk beds, a couch, computer, and a small TV. We claimed opposite top bunks, sat our stuff up there, and then sat with our legs over the edge after getting a glass of water.

"Well, here goes nothing." Tori said.

"To traveling!" I said raising my glass.

"In Arceus knows where!" Tori clinked her glass against mine, just barely making it.

We sipped our drinks as the sun began to set. All I could hope was that dad was alright.

* * *

**Authors Note: **_We really hope you enjoyed this chapter! We hope to have the next one up Friday or Saturday of next week __ Also, were any of you able to figure out which little section I was a part of writing (It might still be too early for you to tell between our writings) See you next week!_

_P.S. A fun little note, my cousin wrote what happened inside the Jubilife building first, I just tried my best to copy It xD_


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